Peggy Bechko: Writers Who Inspire The Writer In Me

I’ve talked about a lot of things on this blog, writer’s helps and hints, how to do things, websites that help writers or are just fun and maybe inspirational.

Today I’m going to talk about some other writers. Writers who are an inspiration to me. There are a number of them actually, too many to go into great depth so I’ll just go ahead and mention a few, three actually who are interesting, remarkable, inspirational and just plain fun.

In no particular order;

There’s Larry Brody. He’s head honcho over at TVWriter.net. Larry’s a TV writer, producer, screenwriting teacher and more. I met him years ago when I wanted to learn to write film scripts and Larry offered a class at a local college. Not only did I learn a lot but he inspired me to think more, reach for more and create more. Yes, I was lucky, Larry became an unforgettable mentor and friend. If you want to get into TV writing, visit his site, check out the contests, workshops and blog posts – also his book,Television Writing From the InsideOut (in paperback or Ebook edition). So, did I learn to write scripts? Yes, I did, I’ve optioned six, mostly domestically, but one overseas, ghostwrote a script and wrote a one half hour script for a produced series. I’m writing more. We’ll see where it leads. I still love writing books as well, so it’s a bit of a juggling act.

Then there’s my niece, along with her husband. Corinna Bechko was deeply into the animal world, zookkeeper, animal rescue and all that entails (she’s still involved with animal wefare via Kitty Bungalow in LA) when she got side-tracked into writing for comic books and graphic novels, sometimes on her own, frequently as part of a team with her husband Gabriel Hardman (who also does story boards for film & more). She wrote Heathentown and Gabriel illustrated it. Together writing (and Gabriel doing a lot of the artwork) they’ve launched into Betrayal of the Planet Of the Apes with Boom Comics, Exile on The Planet Of The Apes , Planet of The Apes Cataclysm and now the soon to be released (March 2013) Star Wars: Legacy from Dark Horse Comics – the newest incarnation. Aside from being my niece (an inspiring one at that) I’m amazed at the output, creativity, excellent story arcs and fun they put into their creations. Visit with them at comicons, check out their webpages and get their books. You’ll enjoy.

There’s also MaryPax, On Twitter she’s known as @Mpax1. Mary, or simply M, is a science fiction and fantasy author; mostly Ebooks. She’s written of rambunctious plants, other worlds, and the Urban fantasy on our own back steps. I’ve been reading her Backworlds series (first installment free on Kindle) and loving it. Also Plant Girl and am now getting around to Wandering Weeds. M Pax is a fairly new comer to the writing scene and she’s filled with energy, productive and fun to follow on Twitter, at her website and Facebook. I’ve no doubt you’ll enjoy her writing. Give it a try.

To all those writers out there I say go writers go. Give us new worlds, exciting stories and memorable characters we can fall in love with, hate or root for.

Read, write, go forth!

Got a favorite author who inspires your or who you just love and can’t wait to read their next offering? Post it below – add to the conversation.

EDITED BY LB TO ADD: Thanks so much, Peggy. Meeting you was one of the best things that happened when I lived in Santa Fe.Your opinion means a great deal to me. Well, more than that, really, but I’m too choked up to say.